Memorial opening health clinic at Concordia Village retirement community

Wednesday

Jul 2, 2014 at 12:01 AMJul 2, 2014 at 11:03 AM

By Dean OlsenStaff Writer

Beginning Wednesday, residents of Concordia Village won’t have to leave the property to get a medical check-up or see a doctor for a range of non-emergency health problems.

Memorial Physician Services, an affiliate of Memorial Health System, will operate an outpatient clinic with one examination room every Wednesday at the retirement community on Springfield’s west side.

Convenient service and a growing population of senior citizens locally appear to be the main factors driving the opening of the second general medical facility inside a non-medical Springfield site.

Memorial opened the first such facility, an outpatient clinic, in March 2013 in the lower level of 1 Horace Mann Plaza for employees of Horace Mann Educators Corp.

“Enhancing wellness is a key component of caring for our residents,” said Mike Raso, regional vice president for Lutheran Senior Services, the not-for-profit parent corporation of Concordia Village.

Lutheran Senior Services officials, who operate the retirement community at 4010 W. Iles Ave., said they approached Memorial to staff the clinic in Concordia’s Care Center for the community’s almost 360 residents.

The clinic, which will accept walk-ins as well as appointments, will operate from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Wednesday. The number of days the clinic is open could expand in the future, officials from Memorial and Lutheran Senior Services said.

“Our partnership with Concordia Village allows us to respond to the growing health-care needs of our aging population,” said Travis Dowell, a vice president of the Springfield-based health system. “As health-care reform evolves, this is a great opportunity to work with our seniors.”

Dr. Mary Saunders, an internal-medicine specialist with 28 years of experience, will provide care at the clinic and be assisted by a nurse, Dowell said.

Concordia residents who already have relationships with doctors in Springfield or other communities could use Sanders on an intermittent basis or could decide to make her their primary-care physician, Dowell said.

Those patients also could see Saunders the other days of the week at Memorial Physician Services’ Capitol Healthcare site at 2603 S. Sixth St., he said.

“Our intent is not to take away from any established relationships,” Dowell said.